Bridge Grant for those who lost their jobs less than 90 days ago

Modest Needs makes Bridge grants by remitting payment to a creditor for a relatively small, emergency expense on behalf of an individual or family suffering from short-term unemployment due to the current economic downturn.

In making a Bridge Grant, our goal is to allow a person who has recently become unemployed through no fault of his or her own AND who has yet to find a new position OR to begin receiving the unemployment benefits to which s/he is entitled to continue to look for work without having to worry - at least in the short term - about losing his or her home, car, health insurance, child care, or other items / services essential to an individual's ability to look for / accept new employment and / or to remain self-sufficient while that person is waiting for his or her unemployment benefits to start.You should apply for a Bridge Grant if:

You are currently unemployed and need help to afford a small, emergency expense that is essential to your ability to look for / accept new employment and /or to remain self-sufficient while waiting for your unemployment benefits to start.

For example, a person who received a layoff letter recently due to the economic downturn and cannot afford to pay rent while waiting for unemployment benefits to kick in would be an excellent candidate for a Bridge grant.In order to qualify for a Bridge Grant:You must be currently unemployed and need help to afford a small, emergency expense that is essential to your ability to look for / accept new employment and / or to remain self-sufficient while waiting for your unemployment benefits to start ;~You must have been unemployed for NO MORE than 90 days;~You must have become unemployed through NO FAULT of your own. That is to say, you are not unemployed because you quit or were terminated for cause;~You must not have a job offer in hand AND you must not applying for assistance with a specific expense that would allow you to return to work (a license renewal, for example.) If you do have a job offer in hand AND you are requesting help with an expense that would allow you to return to work, you should apply for assistance under our ~The expense with which you need assistance must be payable on your behalf, directly to a vendor; and~The expense with which you need assistance can be paid in full for no more than the maximum grant for which your household qualifies from Modest Needs.

Please Note:

Persons applying for a Bridge grant CANNOT have been unemployed for longer than 90 days. We consider this to be a long-term loss of income. Persons who have been unemployed for longer than 90 days or have lost employment due to termination with cause or have voluntarily left their positions MAY qualify for a Back to Work grant or Self-Sufficiency grant once they have IN HAND, a bona-fide job offer.